Abstract
Microwave combustion technique (MCT) was used to synthesize of spinel Ni1-xSrxFe2O4 (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5) nanoparticles (NPs) by employing the fuel L-arginine. The physical characteristics of the as-prepared NPs were obtained by following methods, viz., powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution scanning electron microscope (HR-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-Vis DRS), Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques. The diffraction studies revealed that the average crystallite size exists in the band of 14.25 to 27.52 nm. The HR-SEM pictures revealed the agglomerated and spherical morphology of spinel Ni1-xSrxFe2O4 (x = 0 to 0.5) nanoparticles. Elemental analysis ensured the existence of Ni, Sr, O, and Fe ions. The energy band gap of the NPs was observed to exist in the range of 2.95 to 3.39 eV upon varying the concentration of Sr2+ dopant. The broad peaks at 437 cm(-1) and 582 cm(-1) correspond to octahedral (B-) metal stretching (Ni-O) and tetrahedral (A-) metal stretching (Fe-O) of nickel ferrite respectively. Magnetic results revealed that the prepared NPs are ferromagnetic in nature. The antibacterial activity (ABA) of gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis and gram-negative Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia has been investigated using pure and Sr2+-substituted NiFe2O4 NPs. It was found that the improved activity is intensified with smooth Sr2+ doping as it causes a decrease in the grain size.